Reflection Essay

             Over the course of the semester, I have found that my writing has improved in many ways. I have always struggled with writing and found it tricky to put my thoughts on paper. Before this course, I took an AP English class and did not take Comp 1 and found that not taking an English course my first semester left me a little rusty. I have been proficient in grammar throughout my education because that is what I have been taught the most, however, you cannot teach someone to be natural at writing. In my past English classes, I struggled with staying on topic and following prompts, and my first attempt at the argumentative essay was no different. Writing the argumentative proposal essay turned out to be harder than I initially thought, but it helped me grow the most in my writing.

            When writing my first attempt at the argumentative proposal, I did not use the correct PEE format. While I did include some quotes, I did not utilize enough to thoroughly express my solutions to the epidemic I chose. Without PEE format, I would include a quote and forget to add my thoughts and commentary. I have always struggled with commentary in essay writing and found that it fell short in the proposal essay as well. My explanations of the quotes were poor, and I found myself writing in circles. However, I was gratefully given a chance to rewrite my essay and improve my mistakes with the help of thorough feedback. My second attempt was much better and showed improvement. I was able to successfully explain my topic on illiteracy.

            Throughout the course, my essay topics focused on the illiteracy epidemic, especially on how it disproportionately affects minority children. Through my research, I learned a lot about the sad truths of illiteracy and how prevalent it still is in the United States. I think learning about this topic opened my eyes and allowed me to be more empathetic toward the people who face this inequality. I learned that the solutions to the problem require a lot of support and the passing of legislation to create equal opportunities for students.

            Another thing I struggled with throughout the course was citations. Since I took a semester off English classes, I forgot some of the MLA rules required. It was challenging for me to incorporate in-text citations and remember the correct format of them. I often forgot where to place periods or commas and what words to italicize. I had trouble blending quotes into my writing, so they did not seem choppy or misplaced. It took me many tries to improve this part of my writing, but over the course of the semester, I have mastered in-text citations and made sure my quotes blend seamlessly.

            Overall, the course has made me a better writer. The writing assignments allowed me to have more practice in different essay styles. I can express my thoughts on paper and focus on the prompts given to me and write at a college level. Although I can still improve in many ways, I am a much better writer than I was at the beginning of the school year.